by Bill Whan
Bad luck has been dogging us lately, so in a desperate attempt to elude ill fortune’s grasp we secretly changed plans at the last minute. We announced completely unexpected birding locations only when our hardy band of seven, prepared for a typical November trip to the wind-ravaged shores of Lake Erie, convened in the early morning darkness on the 13th. It seems to have worked.
Keeping waterbirds as a theme, we laid out a sequence of reservoirs in the southwestern quadrant of the state, mindful that most of us had not yet seen the western grebe reported at Caesar Creek State Park in Warren County. We benefited from Eastern Standard time, leaving a traditional coffee stop just at dawn in Springfield to marvel at that city’s famous crow roost, as many thousands rose from trees and spread out across the countryside in the wan early light of a clear day. Like last month, we scanned the waters of C.J. Brown Reservoir first, finding only a thousand-plus Bonaparte’s gulls and two curious young loons. At the north end of the reservoir we came across a few shorebirds, 61 dunlins (thanks, Paul, for the count) and three lesser yellowlegs. A half-hearted stop at Old Reid Park on the way out of the area, where we expected the usual tame swans and barnyard geese and a few migrants, and did, but also struck gold when we came upon a cackling goose, the newly-split species, consorting with Canadas.
Caesar Creek was the next stop. A peremptory look at the feeders was availing nothing unusual, but a determined all-hands scan from shore finally produced a hazy image a mile and a quarter away that we finally decided must be the western grebe. It seemed happy to stay there, so we ourselves moved, driving around the lake and taking a deserted road and some horse trails, a walk of over a mile, through the woods. Amazingly, we emerged into a thicket near the beach only 40 yards from a stunning western grebe. We were respectful, and it treated us to great looks, acting only a bit miffed we’d invaded its sanctuary. Hesitantly, we began uncrossing our fingers.
We pushed our luck a bit perhaps by going to Cowan Lake, where a chilly half hour produced only gulls and common loons and a handful of ducks. Hunting was going on, and ducks were hard to find all day. The short day had grown shorter, and we hurried to Deer Creek Reservoir for another windy vigil. Gulls, common loons, and some ducks!
Mostly mallards, but there were some black-and-white things, birds I jokingly said must be a small flock of ancient murrelets. Brad and Joe schlepped back to the car for scopes, and Brad took a glance, pronounced them buffleheads, and gave Lori a look. She was skeptical, and finally it became clear we had a flotilla of long-tailed ducks, a fairly scarce species and unexpected in Pickaway County.
For the final act, as the sun was coloring up and approaching the horizon, we cruised the wildlife area at the north end of the lake. We’d heard some sandhill cranes reported the previous week, and announced we’d park to see if they’d show up. No sooner had we alit than four cranes veered in from the west and glided as one to the shore of the water in the drawn-down reservoir. A nice end to a nice day, and we’d dodged the jinx. Not a bad list, considering we concentrated strictly on waterbirds, of 65 species, follows:
Cackling goose
Canada goose
Mute swan
Gadwall
American wigeon
American black duck
Mallard
Northern shoveler
Northern pintail
Green-winged teal
Long-tailed duck
Bufflehead
Hooded merganser
Ruddy duck
Ring-necked pheasant
Common loon
Pied-billed grebe
Horned grebe
Western grebe
Double-crested cormorant
Great blue heron
Turkey vulture    Red-shouldered hawk
Red-tailed hawk
American kestrel
American coot
Sandhill crane
Killdeer
Lesser yellowlegs
Dunlin
Bonaparte’s gull
Ring-billed gull
Herring gull
Rock pigeon
Mourning dove
Belted kingfisher
Red-bellied woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
Northern flicker
Blue jay
American crow
Horned lark
Carolina chickadee
White-breasted nuthatch    Brown creeper
Carolina wren
Winter wren
Golden-crowned kinglet
Eastern bluebird
American robin
Northern mockingbird
European starling
American pipit
Cedar waxwing
American tree sparrow
Song sparrow
White-throated sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
Dark-eyed junco
Northern cardinal
Red-winged blackbird
Common grackle
Brown-headed cowbird
American goldfinch
House sparrow